Best ever portrait of June Caprice?

This original drawing with its delicious absinthe blue is by one Emili Vilà Gorgoll (Llagostera 1887-1967, who he?) & is up for auction at Balclis on Wednesday. Here's the competition. I go basically for the munchies and the odd curiosity. I sense an inverse relationship between price and personal preference - the expensive stuff seems [...]

A curious vertical axis wind turbine in 16th century La Mancha

But how did it work? 9 comments, inc A Nun: The panemone is nice because you don't need to turn it. God knows how the Persians managed with thei

A brief history of zoological shame

Featuring a Spanish view of the Saxons.

Crisis, what crisis?

Rodolfo de Angelis' great 1930s hit explains how to get ourselves out of the mess we've got ourselves into. 5 comments, inc Trebots: If God doesn't approve of silicon, why was his son born in Galilee instead of Galicia?

A curious Spanish, Trafalgar-era, overshot waterwheel

A normal overshot wheel manages outflow like this: So what on earth is going on at the bottom of this (otherwise virtually undocumented) patent application? Have they figured out some smart paddle mechanism that enables them to raise the efficiency marginally? Or is the whole thing a load of bollocks? (The Romans were using overshot [...] (401) 3 comments, inc A Nun: Looks like simple casing around the paddles. There's a break in the casing at the top and at the bot

Top searches at the Consejo General del Poder Judicial

Chart-toppers: Mossos who torture. (4434) 3 comments, inc A Nun: No. 2 for guardia civil is guardia civil and cocaina.

Why I facking hate personalised search

Me. Generally speaking I remember how to get back to all the important stuff I find, and if I'm still searching it's because I want something different, not regurgitated Google Reader posts. Me and them. 90% of my social network "friends" don't read this blog and don't blog themselves. I like to think that this [...] (5038)

Das Scroll und Scream Kitschin' Kabinett des Dr Kalebeul

Recent book recommendations

Visitors booked

  • Brer Rabid: "pseudo-historic revisionism, ... pack of lies and bullshit, ... Catalanophobe resentment of Spanish nationalism (past and present) apologist"
  • Don Colin: "gnomic"
  • The Pox: "Franco's Little Helper"
  • La Vanguardia wonders whether Kalebeul is a CIA operation
  • Mark Liberman: "a treat"
  • Significant other: "What was that hairy weirdo on about? What blog?"

More bollocks

Shorts

Steakholders

(Syndicated)

In comments, from the excellent Pueblo Girl, a not uncommon Spanglish eggcorn, and one previously much enjoyed in English too. For example: Stake versus Steak. On one occasion, Garrick dined in the beef-steak room at Covent Garden, ready dressed in character for the part of Ranger, which he was to perform the same night at the other theatre. Ranger appears in the opening of the comedy; and as (245)

Long time no see, but…

(Syndicated)

Organ‘s almost there: And one’s mind is furtively wandering again through the world of cargo cycles. Recent sightings include a very impressive 4-wheeler from FietsXpress.nl in Den Haag: Apparently it’s Berlin-built, but by whom? Vrachtfiets.nl, a spin-off from the excellent technical university in Delft (I used to cycle there from Rijswijk every lunchtime for fried [...] (464)

Nowish

  • Barroso says we're making progress, but are his savings still in Portugal? →
  • Did Anish Kapoor really not realise that everyone was going to call Mittal's folly the Arsehole Orbit? →
  • So what if Spain 10 year yields are 6%? Portugal hasn't been under 10 for a year →

On this day

Barcelona

Josep Pla, Palafrugell (1918-9)

  • 17 de maig de 1918: El vent ha assecat el país. En poques hores hem passat dels verds tendres i suaus als grocs lluents i eixarreïts. Transmutació desagradable. Tot és ja ple de pols i de brutícia. No hi ha res més desagradable que la pols. Veure llaurar un pagès seguit del nuvolet de pols que l’arada alça de terra [...]

Catholic hagiography

The peepul's choice

Toppo